Harmonizing Asylum in the EU

This week the European Union is to unveil plans to coordinate Europe’s response to asylum-seekers from Africa and the Middle East.

Sweden’s Immigration Minister Tobias Billström says the new system can ease the pressure on those countries where the refugees arrive first.

Sweden currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU. Billström tells the AFP news agency, that attention also has to be given to the roots of the problem in the countries of departure, to make sure that easing the process in Europe doesn’t just make it a more attractive destination.